Yesterday we continued our community search to include Ramat Beit Shemesh. We were overwhelmed by all our school visits, and frankly needed a break. Instead of the usual community search we visited family, davened at shuls, and went shopping there. We drove around the area and got a sense of the housing and parks.

I think the most important thing that I gained yesterday was the realization that I had so many wonderful family members who were excited to welcome us to Israel. Visiting my sister in law, cousins, and aunt and uncle was enjoyable and also encouraging. We have a whole support network of people who are ready to help in any way they can. We have people to share simchas and holidays with, especially when we are missing those we left back in America. When we got home, my sister called for a daily update. Having her on the same time zone is awesome! She is one of my best friends and I truly feel blessed to have her by my side through this whole process.

Today Simcha spent the day networking. He met with a few contacts about potential job opportunities. Each of the meetings seemed positive and led to more people to contact. Transitioning our careers to Israel will not be easy, but people seem to be willing to help new olim.

While Simcha was in meetings, I went to Modiin to visit my other sister in law. She is in the process of moving into a newly built apartment. I got to experience the construction sight first hand. She had an electrician, a carpenter, an air conditioner installation crew, closet assemblers, and a man measuring for the glass shower doors all at once. It was noisy and messy, but her apartment seemed to be coming along nicely.

It was interesting to watch the closets being assembled. I learned about the different options and sizes for closets. I also got to really see how much storage to expect from the various sized closets. I was surprised how many drawers and shelves there were and how much space she had for hanging clothes.

Although we did not jam our days with school visits and tangible research, we feel like we are getting more familiar with Israel life. Just doing everyday activities such as driving around the streets, asking questions in Hebrew, and figuring out where to buy which items makes us more confident about our ability to make this transition. Each day we are here looking around with our eyes open gives us more experiences and teaches us more about how our lives will be when we move. To me, that is valuable in and of itself.